The first ten jobs to hand to AI in a home-service shop
A free starter guide for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners
In most home-service shops the money leaks out through the phone: the call nobody picked up and the estimate nobody chased. These are the ten jobs I'd hand to AI first, in the order I'd do them, and what stays with your people.
Jaden Duclos, founder of RidgeForce AI
The ten jobs, in order
Missed calls texted back
- The system takes
- A text goes out within a minute of any call you couldn't answer, asking what they need, and the reply lands where your office sees it.
- Stays with a person
- Calling back the ones that need a real conversation, and quoting a price.
- You know it's working
- No voicemail sits overnight. Every missed call has a text and a reply in the log by morning.
Calls answered and booked, day and night
- The system takes
- A receptionist on your existing number (it stays with your carrier) answers when nobody can, asks the questions your office asks, books the slot, and texts a confirmation.
- Stays with a person
- Emergencies that need a judgment call, upset customers, and anything off the price list. Those get transferred or flagged.
- You know it's working
- Monday's board has jobs that were booked from Saturday night calls.
Open estimates followed up
- The system takes
- Polite follow-ups go out on a schedule after every estimate and stop the moment the customer replies.
- Stays with a person
- The conversation once they answer, and any discount.
- You know it's working
- No estimate goes quiet after one try, and you can see which ones came back.
Review requests after every job
- The system takes
- When a job is marked done, the customer gets a short text asking for a review, with the link.
- Stays with a person
- Replying to reviews, the bad ones most of all.
- You know it's working
- Your review count climbs every month without anyone remembering to ask.
Invoices drafted the day the job closes
- The system takes
- The invoice is drafted from the job ticket in QuickBooks or your field software and waits for your yes.
- Stays with a person
- Checking the numbers and any change from the original price.
- You know it's working
- Invoices go out the same day as the job instead of piling up for Friday.
Overdue invoices chased politely
- The system takes
- Reminders go out at 7, 14, and 30 days in your words, and they stop when the invoice is paid.
- Stays with a person
- The phone call to a customer who's really behind, and any payment plan.
- You know it's working
- The over-30 column on your aging report gets shorter.
Tomorrow's schedule texted to every tech
- The system takes
- Each tech gets tomorrow's jobs, addresses, and notes on their phone the night before.
- Stays with a person
- Who goes where. Your dispatcher still builds the board, and the system sends it.
- You know it's working
- Nobody calls the office at 7 AM asking where they're headed.
Job notes and photos filed from the field
- The system takes
- Techs talk or text their notes and snap photos, and it all lands on the right job without anyone retyping it.
- Stays with a person
- What the house needs next. That's still the tech's call.
- You know it's working
- The office stops chasing techs for notes before an invoice can go out.
Past customers and maintenance plans brought back
- The system takes
- Customers you haven't seen in a year hear from you before the busy season, and plan members get a renewal reminder before they lapse.
- Stays with a person
- The offer itself, and anyone who writes back with a real question.
- You know it's working
- Tune-ups fill from your own customer list before you spend a dollar on ads.
Your weekly numbers every morning
- The system takes
- Revenue, cash, open estimates, and jobs booked show up on your phone each morning, pulled from your books and field software.
- Stays with a person
- What you do about them.
- You know it's working
- You stop asking the office for numbers, and you see a slow week coming by Tuesday.
Start with one
Pick one job from this list and run it for a month before you add the next. If you want a second opinion on where to start, the Time Back Score takes five minutes and prices the job eating your week.
Get your Time Back Score
Rather talk? Book a free Time Back call